The Kölner Stadt Anzeiger headline reads 'The joy of the chase'. The report continues: "Only two numbers reveal the whole truth in football: Number of goals scored by the one team and the other. In the match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Fortuna Düsseldorf that says: 2-0 for the Werkself who moved up to fifth place in the Bundesliga on Sunday night with a win for the favourites and they are now the most successful team since the winter break with four wins in five games. At the same time, the world of numbers has expanded in football in recent years. Possession, running, won and lost challenges also play a role as important stats. In the game between Bayer 04 and Fortuna they reveal: 1,053 passes by Bayer 04. 188 passes played by F95. 980 against 129 were successfully completed. 84 per cent possession compared with 16 per cent. That leaves no room for doubt: The match was painfully one-sided and there could only be one winner."
The Kölnische Rundschau notes 'Bayer on the way up' and writes: "The uncontested 2-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf put Julian Brandt in a very relaxed mood – and that was also evident in the Leverkusen's forwards. The left-hand of the 22-year-old was casually placed in his long training jacket and the Bremen-born player expressed himself in a suitably relaxed manner. 'We’ve succeeded in winning our games in the Bundesliga,' said Brandt on the fourth league win for the Werkself in succession and then he made the decisive assessment of the evening: ' Today we played within ourselves at 2-0 rather than driving after the third or fourth goal.'"
'Fourth league win in succession for Leverkusen: Bosz is the best' is the headline in the Bild Zeitung. The article reads: "Super starter Bosz! With the 2-0 win against Düsseldorf, he has made Leverkusen into the best team in the second half of the season. Peter Bosz (55) has been in the job for six weeks and now he has earned a fourth league win in succession in the fifth match. The last time there was a similar run at Bayer was in 2015/16 under Roger Schmidt (51). Leverkusen shoot up to 5th place on course for Europe – the highest position in the season so far!"
The assessment in the Kicker reads: "Bayer Leverkusen are the team at the moment in the Bundesliga and they showed that again in the 2-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf. It was a highly deserved victory for Bayer. Düsseldorf's defensive game was focused on staying in contention. Bayer were successful in preventing counter-attacks."
The Cologne newspaper Express writes: "Leverkusen have played their way back into European contention and remain on the front foot under coach Peter Bosz. The Werkself continue to fly high with the 2-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday and with the fourth win in succession they can even look towards competing for a Champions League spot."
The Rheinische Post quotes the Düsseldorf captain Oliver Fink: 'What Leverkusen showed today was very impressive in terms of skill and technique,' said the 36-year-old appreciatively.' We can learn a lesson from them. Bayer were so dominant and we felt on the pitch that we weren't able to make any challenges.' And that's how it looked for large parts of the game. Most of the time, Fortuna managed to keep the action away from their goal – but at the cost of their own attacks."
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
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After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
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When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
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To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
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